Red glazes were fiendishly difficult when I was at college. The chemistry has moved on a lot since then. Semi-matt textured effects like this are now very popular and I can see why. This bowl, as with all my work is glaze fired to 1230 degrees Celsius. This lovely plummy colour would have faded to brown back in the day.

One of the great things about stoneware is the way glazes change colour over edges and throwing rings.

The main outlets for work like mine are the local village craft fairs, particularly popular at this pre-Christmas time of year. This one was at Finningham. Lovely day but few customers. The stall holders were buying from each other just to sustain morale don’t y’know, what?

Here’s a set of mugs I made in July. They are OK in a rustic sort of way. The glaze has come out quite well so I’ll keep them. It was suggested that I do sets but no-one wants more than two at a time so far!

A holiday in Morrocco in 2007 introduced my wife and I to the wonderful lamb stews of this sub Saharan state. Dried fruit, especially apricots adds to the sweetness of the lamb and the contrasting bitter herb rosemary well known to Mediterranean cuisine.

The stew is eaten from the large pot in the centre of the family table, each diner dipping in with their fingers.

Traditionally tagines are of low fired earthenware in terracotta red clay with straight tapered sides to both pot and open topped lid. My take is to use stoneware clay, curved lines and varied glaze effects. The spouted lid remains for culinary reasons!

Having sold the large blue tagine elsewhere on this site a customer asked me if I could make her something similar. It reminded her of working in the local pottery factory years ago.

So I’m way out of style but who cares if it sells and I enjoy making it?

These are two versions I’m hoping she’ll like. At the moment they are “green” wares having been thrown, dried and now ready for the next “biscuit” firing. After that they’ll be glazed and she will have a choice to make, assuming both survive submission to the fire!